Bread seller arrested on fraud charges

A Superior Court judge ordered a Durham company to temporarily stop selling food products after a Tuesday hearing into allegations that the company, Great Specialty Products, marketed bread as gluten-free that had gluten and made people sick.

Moments after the court hearing ended, the company's owner, Paul Evan Seelig was arrested by state Department of Agriculture police. Seelig, 47, of Durham, was charged with six counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. He is accused of selling bread to six customers as gluten-free while knowing the bread contained gluten.

After hearing arguments and testimony Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Ken Titus said, "I'm not going to close this business completely, although that is tempting."

Before Seelig can sell food again, Titus required him to take down the company's Web site, provide a list of suppliers and customers from the past year and provide samples of each product he sells for testing and inspection. Once Seelig can sell again, Titus ordered that every customer invoice have a disclaimer in bold typeface saying that the product is not gluten-free.

The preliminary injunction hearing Tuesday came after about two dozen consumers complained to state officials about getting sick after eating bread marketed as gluten-free. People with celiac disease adhere to a strict gluten-free diet. The disease makes them unable to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. Gluten damages their lower intestine, making them unable to absorb nutrients, which can lead to autoimmune disorders and miscarriages.

Alleged deceptions

During the court hearing, Faison Hicks, a special deputy attorney general, painted Seelig as a felon who lied to customers and state officials and tried to stymie the investigation. Hicks said Seelig claimed he bought his bread from an Amish bakery in Millersburg, Ohio. However, investigators discovered that bakery doesn't exist. Instead, Hicks said, Seelig was buying regular bread made by Tribeca Oven of New Jersey through a third-party and reselling it as gluten-free bread.

Anita MacMullan, a supervisor with the food and drug protection division at the N.C. Department of Agriculture, testified that Seelig cited health problems as reasons for delaying an inspection of his facility and failing to hand over documents or bread samples. MacMullan said Seelig's claimed health problems included chemotherapy, a staph infection that put him in intensive care, swine flu and a heart attack. Several times, these claims and other interactions with Seelig's company were conveyed to investigators via an employee who identified himself as "Jeff Gleason," which according to Hicks is Seelig's "alter-ego."

Urging the judge to shut down Seelig's business, Hicks said, "He knowingly sold [consumers with celiac disease] a product that to them is poison."

In court, Seelig countered that his company never claimed to sell only gluten-free products. "We believe the order that we not sell any food products in North Carolina is overreaching," Seelig said.

He has denied his company sold bread with gluten in it, insisting that more consumers would have become ill if that were true.

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